3D Printing and VR

It has been said that the new technology of Virtual Reality will give the home 3D printing industry a shot in the arm. Here we take a look at that claim and what is needed to create 3D prints in VR.

Oculus Medium +

Oculus Medium was one of the first VR sculpting programs. It allowed users to create 3D models in a far more intuitive fashion than most CAD or sculpting programs on the pc by removing one level of abstraction. Now, rather than moving a mouse pointer on the screen with your hands remotely, whether using mouse or pressure sensitive stylus tablet, you are working on the model directly. VR's ability to allow new users to have a hands on experience when creating.

It is recommended that you use the tutorials that come with the program.

Oculus Medium is an Oculus Rift only program.

You can export your model as an .obj file.

Oculus Medium Manual (Downloadable .pdf)

SculptrVR ++

SculptrVR is currently the only option for sculpting a printable 3D file on the Oculus Go. Unlike Medium, this program works purely on an additive/subtractive modeling process. Also, since the Go only has 3 directions of freedom as opposed to the Rift and Vive's 6 directions of freedom, rather than turning your model, the users move themselves to be facing the part of the model that they are working on.

The Oculus Rift version of SculptrVR is different from the Go version in that users are able to move the model around.

The tutorial/intro to the program is fairly short, but pay attention as it goes by since I have yet to find a way to view it multiple times.

You can export your model as an .obj file.

Google Tilt Brush +++

Google Tilt Brush is more like painting than sculpting and has a different approach to creating than the previous programs.

However, if you really want to print a 3D model of your Tilt Brush creation, you can.

3D Print Your Tilt Brush Sketches Using MeshmixerTiltbrush is a great 3D sketching tool by Google for the HTC Vive, it lets you "paint in 3D space with virtual reality. Your room is your canvas. Your palette...

Google Blocks +++

Google Blocks is a great way to start working up your 3D printed models. This program is a bit similar to Tinkercad in that you work with primitives to create a model. More in line with traditional modeling programs like Blender, Google's blocks are shaped by selecting faces edges or vertices and dragging them out or in. You can export your model as an .obj file.